Multileaf spinach

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a spinach plant which carries a genetic determinant that leads to the multileaf trait and which plant has at least 1.25 times as many leaves as a plant not carrying the multileaf trait wherein said trait is obtainable by introgression from a multileaf spinach plant representative seed of which was deposited with the NCIMB under accession number NCIMB 41619. The invention further relates to progeny of the plant as well as propagation material, in particular seeds, for the production of plants that carry the multileaf trait.

RELATED APPLICATIONS AND INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.13/775,511 filed on Feb. 25, 2013, which is a continuation-in-partapplication of international patent application Serial No.PCT/NL2011/050577 filed 25 Aug. 2011, which published as PCT PublicationNo. WO 2012/026814 on 1 Mar. 2012, which claims benefit of NL patentapplication Serial No. 2005279 filed 26 Aug. 2010.

The foregoing applications, and all documents cited therein or duringtheir prosecution (“appln cited documents”) and all documents cited orreferenced in the appln cited documents, and all documents cited orreferenced herein (“herein cited documents”), and all documents cited orreferenced in herein cited documents, together with any manufacturer'sinstructions, descriptions, product specifications, and product sheetsfor any products mentioned herein or in any document incorporated byreference herein, are hereby incorporated herein by reference, and maybe employed in the practice of the invention. More specifically, allreferenced documents are incorporated by reference to the same extent asif each individual document was specifically and individually indicatedto be incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new type of spinach (Spinaciaoleracea) plant. The invention further relates to cells of these plantsand to seeds and other propagation material as well as to theharvestable parts of these plants.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) is a flowering plant in the family ofAmaranthaceae that is grown as a vegetable. The consumable parts ofspinach are the leaves from the vegetative stage. Spinach is sold loose,bunched, in prepackaged bags, canned, or frozen. There are three basictypes of spinach, namely savoy, semi-savoy and smooth. Savoy has darkgreen, crinkly and curly leaves. Flat or smooth leaf spinach has broadsmooth leaves. Semi-savoy is a variety with slightly crinkled leaves.The main market for spinach is baby-leaf. Baby spinach leaves areusually of the flat-leaf variety and no longer than about eightcentimeter. These tender, sweet leaves are sold loose rather than inbunches. It is often used in salads, but can also be lightly cooked.

Citation or identification of any document in this application is not anadmission that such document is available as prior art to the presentinvention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present inventors have now developed a new type of spinach plantthat has substantially more leaves per plant as compared to existingspinach plants. This highly increases the efficiency of spinachproduction as more leaves may be harvested per seed. The substantiallymore leaves per plant are found in the vegetative plant stage, at whichthe plants are harvested for consumption.

The new trait, which is called herein the “multileaf trait” is as foundin plants of which representative seeds are deposited on 29th of April2009 with NCIMB Ltd, Ferguson Building, Craibstone Estate, Bucksburn,Aberdeen AB21 9YA, UK under deposit accession number NCIMB 41619. Thephenotypic trait is the result of a heritable genetic determinant thatis present in the genome of the deposited seeds and may be introducedinto any plant that does not carry the multileaf phenotype byintrogression from plants grown from seeds of which a representativesample was deposited under accession number NCIMB 41619. The genetictrait is monogenic recessive. When homozygously present in the genome ofa spinach plant the genetic determinant leads to the multileaf trait ormultileaf phenotype, which trait leads to the plant having at least 1.25times as many leaves as a plant not carrying the multileaf trait.

The new multileaf trait may thus be defined as having at least 1.25times, preferably at least 1.5 times, more preferably at least 2 times,most preferably at least 2.5 times as many leaves per plant as a plantthat does not carry the multileaf trait. The comparison is made betweenplants in the same developmental stage. Suitably this stage is thevegetative plant stage (approx. 7 weeks after sowing).

The multileaf trait of the invention may be introduced into any otherspinach plant, irrespective of leaf type (smooth, semi-savoy or savoy)or leaf morphology (smooth, weakly to strongly incised) or any othercharacteristic.

The invention relates to spinach plants obtainable by crossing a firstspinach parent plant with a second spinach parent plant that has the“multileaf trait” as found in plants of which representative seed wasdeposited under deposit accession number NCIMB 41619 to obtain F1plants, subsequently selfing plants of the F1 to obtain the F2generation and selecting plants from the F2 that have the multileaftrait as plants of the invention.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to not encompass withinthe invention any previously known product, process of making theproduct, or method of using the product such that Applicants reserve theright and hereby disclose a disclaimer of any previously known product,process, or method. It is further noted that the invention does notintend to encompass within the scope of the invention any product,process, or making of the product or method of using the product, whichdoes not meet the written description and enablement requirements of theUSPTO (35 U.S.C. §112, first paragraph) or the EPO (Article 83 of theEPC), such that Applicants reserve the right and hereby disclose adisclaimer of any previously described product, process of making theproduct, or method of using the product.

It is noted that in this disclosure and particularly in the claimsand/or paragraphs, terms such as “comprises”, “comprised”, “comprising”and the like can have the meaning attributed to it in U.S. patent law;e.g., they can mean “includes”, “included”, “including”, and the like;and that terms such as “consisting essentially of” and “consistsessentially of” have the meaning ascribed to them in U.S. patent law,e.g., they allow for elements not explicitly recited, but excludeelements that are found in the prior art or that affect a basic or novelcharacteristic of the invention.

These and other embodiments are disclosed or are obvious from andencompassed by, the following Detailed Description.

Deposits

The Deposits with NCIMB Ltd, Ferguson Building, Craibstone Estate,Bucksburn, Aberdeen AB21 9YA, UK, under deposit accession number 41619were made pursuant to the terms of the Budapest Treaty. Upon issuance ofa patent, all restrictions upon the deposit will be removed, and thedeposit is intended to meet the requirements of 37 CFR §§1.801-1.809.The deposit will be maintained in the depository for a period of 30years, or 5 years after the last request, or for the effective life ofthe patent, whichever is longer, and will be replaced if necessaryduring that period.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following detailed description, given by way of example, but notintended to limit the invention solely to the specific embodimentsdescribed, may best be understood in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings.

FIG. 1 shows the number of fully developed leaves as a function of timeof plants of the invention in comparison with spinach plants not havingthe multileaf trait.

FIG. 2 shows a comparison between a plant of the invention (left) and aprior art plant.

FIG. 3 shows the separate leaves of a plant of the invention (left) anda prior art plant (Matricks). Both were grown under the same conditions.

FIG. 4 shows a normal plant (left) and a multileaf plant (right) from F21.1.

FIG. 5 shows a normal plant (right) and a multileaf plant (left) from F22.1.

FIG. 6 shows a normal plant (right) and a multileaf plant (left) from F22.2.

FIG. 7 shows a normal plant (right) and a multileaf plant (left) from F22.3.

FIG. 8 shows a normal plant (right) and a multileaf plant (left) from F23.1.

FIG. 9 shows at the top a normal plant (right) and a multileaf plant(left) from F2 3.2 and at the bottom the dissected leaves of a multileafplant (right) and the normal plant (left).

FIG. 10 shows at the top a normal plant (right) and a multileaf plant(left) from F2 3.3 and at the bottom the dissected leaves of a multileafplant (left) and the normal plant (right).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a new type of spinach plants that havesignificantly more leaves per plant as compared to known spinach plants.

The greenhouse trials in which the multileaf trait was investigated wereperformed in different growing seasons including August, October, andJanuary. Independently of the growing season the multileaf type producedsignificantly more leaves compared to the controls.

When plants were harvested at baby-leaf stage, i.e. an earlierdevelopmental stage, spinach plants of the multileaf type alreadyproduced significantly more leaves than the controls. The trait is thusindependent of the developmental stage. However, the multileaf trait isbased on comparison between plants that are in substantially the samedevelopmental stage, in particular the vegetative stage, more inparticular approximately 7 weeks after sowing. Thus, at substantiallythe same developmental stage spinach plants of the invention carryingthe multileaf trait have a higher number of leaves than spinach plantsnot carrying the multileaf trait.

Moreover, it was found in multileaf spinach plants that the rate of leafemergence is accelerated in comparison to other spinach plants notcarrying the multileaf trait and grown simultaneously at equalconditions.

In one embodiment, the invention relates to a spinach plant whichcarries a genetic determinant that leads to the multileaf trait and hasat least 1.25 times as many leaves as a spinach plant not carrying themultileaf trait wherein said trait is obtainable by introgression of thegenetic determinant from a spinach plant representative seed of whichwas deposited with the NCIMB under accession number NCIMB 41619. In oneembodiment, the trait is introduced into the spinach plant from aspinach plant grown from seed that was deposited with the NCIMB underaccession number NCIMB 41619 or a progeny plant thereof.

In one embodiment, the invention relates to a spinach plant that carriesa genetic determinant that leads to the multileaf trait and has at least1.25 times as many leaves as a spinach plant not carrying the multileaftrait wherein said trait is introgressed from a plant representativeseed of which was deposited with the NCIMB under accession number NCIMB41619. In one embodiment, the trait is introgressed from a plant grownfrom seed that was deposited with the NCIMB under accession number NCIMB41619 or a progeny plant thereof.

“Introgression” as used herein is intended to mean introduction of atrait into a plant not carrying the trait by means of crossing andselection. Introgression leads to the genetic information, i.e. thegenetic determinant, underlying the phenotypic trait to be introducedinto the plant not carrying the determinant and not showing thephenotype. Descendants of the initial cross between the multileaf parentand the normal, i.e. non-multileaf, parent, in particular part of theplants of the F2 progeny, show the phenotype and thus carry the traitand the genetic determinant. Such plants are thus plants of theinvention that have acquired the trait and the underlying geneticdeterminant by introgression.

It should be noted that if the selection criterion or criteria is or areclearly defined, the skilled person will be able to identify thedescendants that carry the trait in any further generation. For thetrait of the invention descendants from a cross between a plant notcarrying the multileaf trait and a plant carrying the multileaf trait asfound in plants of which representative seeds was deposited underaccession number NCIMB 41619 may thus be identified by growing F2 plantsfrom seeds that are the result from the initial cross and a selfingstep, selecting plants producing at least 1.25 times as many leaves as aplant not carrying the trait as multileaf plants.

In one embodiment, the invention relates to spinach plants obtainable bycrossing a first spinach parent plant with a second spinach parent plantthat has the multileaf trait as found in plants of which representativeseed was deposited under deposit accession number NCIMB 41619 to obtainan F1, subsequently selfing plants of the F1 to obtain an F2 andselecting plants from the F2 that have the multileaf trait as plants ofthe invention. The multileaf trait is transferred in a patternconsistent with recessive inheritance.

In one embodiment the second spinach parent plant is a plant grown fromthe deposited seeds. In one embodiment the second spinach parent plantis a progeny plant of a plant grown from the deposited seeds. In oneembodiment the second spinach parent plant is a plant having the geneticinformation that encodes the multileaf phenotype, i.e. the geneticdeterminant underlying the multileaf phenotype. In one embodiment thisgenetic information is substantially identical to the geneticinformation that encodes the multileaf trait as found in plants of whichrepresentative seeds were deposited under deposit accession number NCIMB41619, in particular plants grown from seeds as deposited under depositaccession number 41619.

In one embodiment, the invention thus relates to a spinach plant,showing the trait multileaf, which plant is obtainable by:

-   -   a) growing plants representative seed of which was deposited        under NCIMB number 41619;    -   b) crossing a plant from step a) with a spinach plant that does        not have the multileaf trait to obtain an F1 population;    -   c) selfing plants from the F1 to obtain a F2 population; and    -   d) identifying plants showing the multileaf trait in the F2        population as multileaf spinach plants.

In the method described above steps c) and d) may be repeated one ormore times by selfing an Fn population to obtain an Fn+1 population andidentifying plants showing the multileaf trait in the Fn+1 population asmultileaf spinach plants.

The multileaf trait is phenotypically visible because plants formsignificantly more leaves. The trait is however caused by the plant'sgenotype. The genotype as far as it concerns the multileaf trait is thesame or a similar genotype as found in the deposited seeds. The part ofthe genotype of a spinach plant that causes the multileaf trait will becalled herein the “genetic information that encodes the multileaf trait”or “the genetic determinant”. Presence of this genetic information isphenotypically visible and plants having this genetic information maythus be selected on the basis of this phenotypic expression of theunderlying gene or genes. As used herein “genetic information” or“genetic determinant” is intended to mean the gene or genes that areresponsible for the formation of significantly more leaves.

The presence of the genetic information that is responsible for themultileaf trait of the invention in the genome of a plant that shows amultileaf characteristic may be determined with the following test. Theplant to be tested should be or should be made homozygous for thegenetic information responsible for the multileaf trait. The skilledperson knows how to obtain a plant that is homozygous for the trait tobe tested.

This plant is then crossed with a tester plant that carries the geneticinformation that is responsible for the trait of the invention inhomozygous condition. If the plant to be tested has a multileafcharacteristic as a result of the same genetic information that isresponsible for the trait of the invention, all progeny plants of thefirst cross and successive generations will express the trait. If themultileaf characteristic of the plant to be tested is the result of adifferent part of the genome, e.g. another gene or locus, segregationwill occur. The tester plant may be any plant that carries the geneticinformation of the invention in homozygous condition, such as plants ofwhich representative seed was deposited under accession number NCIMB41619 or plants directly grown from the deposited seeds or progenythereof that has retained the trait.

In one embodiment of the invention a spinach plant is provided that maycomprise the multileaf trait and thus when crossed with a tester plant,that may comprise the multileaf trait of the invention andrepresentative seed of which as deposited with the NCIMB under accessionnumbers a NCIMB 41619, or a progeny plant thereof that may comprise themultileaf trait comprised in spinach plants representative seed of whichwas deposited with the NCIMB under accession number NCIMB 41619 or aplant derived therefrom and which may comprise the multileaf trait,plants of the first generation progeny (F1) of said cross show a 1:0segregation for the multileaf trait. In both the tester plant and theplant of the invention the multileaf trait is present in homozygouscondition. Plants of the second and further generations, if obtained byselfing also show a 1:0 segregation for the multileaf trait. The testerplant may be a plant of which representative seed was deposited with theNCIMB under accession number NCIMB 41619. When the genetic informationresponsible for the multileaf trait as contained in the deposit ispresent in a plant, the plant is a plant of the invention.

The multileaf characteristic of the invention has a genetic basis in thegenome of the spinach plant. With the above described cross with atester plant, plants may be identified as being plants of the invention.

The multileaf trait is independent of other traits of a spinach plant.The trait may thus occur in spinach plants that are completely differentin all their other characteristics, for example in different spinachvarieties.

The deposited spinach seeds contain in their genome the geneticinformation that encodes the multileaf trait. The deposited seeds arethus a source for the genetic information that leads to the trait. Theskilled person is capable of introducing the trait into any otherspinach plant he desires. A plant resulting from the initial crossbetween a first spinach parent plant with a second spinach parent plantthat contains the genetic information responsible for the multileaftrait, cannot yet be identified as being a plant of the invention.Therefore, an F2 generation is produced by selfing plants of the F1 andassessing the number of leaves of the F2 progeny plant and comparing itwith the number of leaves of the first parent plant. If this number isat least 1.25 times higher than the number of leaves in the first parentplant, the progeny plant is a plant of the invention.

It is clear that a parent that provides the trait of the invention isnot necessarily a plant grown directly from the deposited seeds. Theparent may also be a progeny plant from the seed or a progeny plant fromseeds that are identified to have or to have acquired the trait of theinvention by other means.

In one embodiment, the invention relates to spinach plants that carrythe trait of the invention and have acquired said trait by introductionof the genetic information that is responsible for the trait from asuitable source, either by conventional breeding, or geneticmodification, in particular by cisgenesis or transgenesis. Cisgenesis isgenetic modification of plants with a natural gene, coding for an(agricultural) trait, from the crop plant itself or from a sexuallycompatible donor plant. Transgenesis is genetic modification of a plantwith a gene from a non-crossable species or a synthetic gene.

In one embodiment, the source from which the genetic information isacquired is formed by plants grown from the deposited seeds or sexual orvegetative descendants thereof.

The invention further relates to propagation material for producingplants of the invention. Such propagation material may comprise interalia seeds of the claimed plant and parts of the plant that are suitablefor sexual reproduction. Such parts are for example selected from thegroup consisting of seeds, microspores, pollen, ovaries, ovules, embryosacs and egg cells. In addition, the invention relates to propagationmaterial which may comprise parts of the plant that are suitable forvegetative reproduction, in particular cuttings, roots, stems, cells,protoplasts.

According to a further aspect thereof the propagation material of theinvention may comprise a tissue culture of the claimed plant. The tissueculture may comprise regenerable cells. Such tissue culture may bederived from leaves, pollen, embryos, cotyledon, hypocotyls,meristematic cells, roots, root tips, anthers, flowers, seeds and stems.

According to another aspect of the invention Spinacia oleracea plantsare provided that have all of the morphological and physiologicalcharacteristics corresponding to the multileaf trait of multileafspinach plants of the invention, representative seed of which havingbeen deposited under NCIMB Accession No. NCIMB 41619, which plants aregrown from seeds of a plant of the invention or regenerated from partsthereof, or from a tissue culture. Plants of the invention should havethe morphological and physiological characteristics that correspond withthe multileaf trait but do not necessarily have all the othercharacteristics of plants of the deposited seeds. The trait is broadlytransferable over multiple spinach types and varieties.

The invention also relates to progeny of the spinach plants of theinvention. Such progeny may be produced by sexual or vegetativereproduction of a plant of the invention or a progeny plant thereof. Theregenerated progeny plant shows the multileaf characteristic in the sameor a similar way as the plant, of which representative seed wasdeposited (NCIMN 41619). This means that such progeny has the samecharacteristics as claimed for the spinach plants of the invention andsuitably the underlying genetic determinant that leads to the multileafphenotype. In addition to this, the plant may be modified in one or moreother characteristics. Such additional modifications are for exampleeffected by mutagenesis or by transformation with a transgene orcisgene. Alternatively, modifications in characteristics other than themultileaf trait may be introduced by introducing the multileaf trait ina different background.

As used herein the word “progeny” is intended to mean the offspring orthe first and all further descendants from a cross with a plant of theinvention that shows multileaf characteristics. Progeny of the inventionare descendants of any cross with a plant of the invention that carriesthe multileaf trait.

“Progeny” also encompasses plants that carry the trait of the inventionwhich are obtained from other plants of the invention by vegetativepropagation or multiplication.

In one embodiment, the progeny plant has all of the morphological andphysiological characteristics of the claimed plant in respect of themultileaf trait, representative seed of which having been depositedunder accession number NCIMB 41619. Such progeny has the same multileafcharacteristics as claimed for the plant of the invention and may bemodified in one or more other characteristics.

The invention further relates to cells of multileaf spinach plants asdescribed herein. The cells comprise the genetic information that leadsto the multileaf trait as described herein. Suitably, this geneticinformation is substantially identical, preferably completely identicalto the genetic information encoding the multileaf trait of plants thathave all of the morphological and physiological characteristicspertaining to the multileaf trait of multileaf spinach plants of theinvention, representative seed of which having been deposited underaccession number NCIMB 41619. Preferably, the cell of the invention ispart of a plant or plant part, but the cell may also be in isolatedform.

In one embodiment the plants of the invention are plants grown fromseeds having the deposit accession number NCIMB 41619.

In one embodiment the plants of the invention are progeny plants ofplants grown from seeds having the deposit accession number NCIMB 41619that carry the multileaf trait.

In one embodiment the plants of the invention are plants that carry intheir genome the genetic information that is responsible for themultileaf trait by causing the plant to form significantly more leavesthan a plant not having the said genetic information in its genome.

The spinach plants according to the invention may be of the followingtypes: savoy, semi-savoy and smooth or any other type.

The invention, furthermore, relates to hybrid seed and to a method ofproducing hybrid seed which may comprise crossing a first parent plantwith a second parent plant and harvesting the resultant hybrid seed. Inorder for the hybrid seed to express the trait of the invention, bothparent plants need to be homozygous for the multileaf trait but notnecessarily uniform for other traits.

The invention also relates to the germplasm of plants of the invention.The germplasm is constituted by all inherited or inheritablecharacteristics of an organism and according to the inventionencompasses at least the multileaf trait of the invention.

The invention also relates to the multileaf spinach leaves that areproduced by the plants of the invention and marketed as vegetables,either as fresh vegetables or processed, i.e. cooked, and optionallyfrozen.

In this specification the term “multileaf trait” is intended to meanhaving the genetic information or the genetic determinant that inhomozygous state leads to the plant growing 1.25 times as many leaves asthe same spinach plant not having the said genetic information and whichtrait is as found in plants of which representative seeds were depositedunder accession number NCIMB 41619, in particular in plants grown fromthe deposited seeds. “The same spinach plant” is in particular a planthaving the same genetic background, for example a non-multileaf plant asfound in an F2 population that segregates for the multileaf trait.

“Significantly more” is in one embodiment at least 1.25 times the numberof leaves of a plant that does not carry the genetic informationresponsible for the multileaf trait. In one embodiment significantlymore is at least 1.5 times, in particular at least 2 times the number ofleaves. In one embodiment significantly more is 2.5 times the number ofleaves.

The invention further relates to a container which may comprise one ormore plants of the invention in a growth substrate for harvest of leavesfrom the plant in a domestic environment. This way the consumer may pickvery fresh leaves for use in salads.

The present invention will be further illustrated in the examples thatfollow and which are not intended to limit the invention in any way.

Although the present invention and its advantages have been described indetail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions andalterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

The present invention will be further illustrated in the followingExamples which are given for illustration purposes only and are notintended to limit the invention in any way.

EXAMPLES Example 1 The Multileaf Trait

Plants of the invention were obtained by growing seeds that have themultileaf characteristic as found in seeds that were deposited underaccession number NCIMB 41619. Seeds were sown on 5 cm plant cubes andallowed to germinate under greenhouse conditions. After 6 daysgerminated plants were transferred to a cabrio greenhouse (October 2009,allowing typical frost-free fall-specific growth). Three weeks aftersowing plants were transplanted to pots with a diameter of 12 cm and thenumber of leaves was counted at several time points during development.Plants of different commercially available spinach varieties (Bizon(RZ), Cheetah (RZ), Puma (51-57) (RZ), Rhino (RZ), F1 Prius (Seminis),Matricks (Sumito) and F1 Scoop (Seminis) were grown under the sameconditions. Of each group 12 plants were monitored for a period of 16weeks and the average number of leaves per plant were calculated foreach time point (from 8 October to end December 2009). The results areshown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 shows the comparison between a plant of the invention (202) and aprior art spinach plant of the cultivar Matricks (208, both grown underidentical greenhouse conditions). It is clearly visible that the spinachplant of the invention has more leaves than Matricks.

The same difference is shown in FIG. 3. The left panel shows all theleaves of a plant of the invention (102) and the right panel shows allthe leaves of a Matricks plant (108). The plant of the invention hassignificantly more leaves. Again both were grown in identical conditionsand for an identical growth period.

Example 2 Introduction of the Multileaf Trait into Other Plants

Multileaf spinach plants of the invention grown from seeds of which arepresentative sample was deposited under NCIMB accession number 41619were crossed with 3 different spinach plants not carrying the multileaftrait. All F1 plants of the 3 different crosses did not contain anyplants carrying the multileaf trait of the invention (see Table 1).Selfing of a plant of the F1 population resulted in a population of F2plants segregating for the multileaf trait (see Table 1).

For a monogenic recessive inheritance the expected segregation ratio is1:3. None of the F2 populations significantly deviates from thisexpected ratio according to a chi-square test, because no chi-squarevalue below 0.05 was observed. Therefore, it can be concluded that themultileaf trait is a monogenic recessive trait.

TABLE 1 Normal Multileaf Cross plants plants F1 Deposited multileafplant × plant 1 7 0 (Plant 1 not carring the multileaf trait) 1.1 F2obtained after selfing of a single F1 plant 60 16 F1 Deposited multileafplant × plant 2 7 0 (Plant 2 not carrying the multileaf trait) 2.1 F2obtained after selfing of a single F1 plant 30 6 2.2 F2 obtained afterselfing of a single F1 plant 37 9 2.3 F2 obtained after selfing of asingle F1 plant 22 4 F1 Deposited multileaf plant × plant 3 6 0 (Plant 3not carrying the multileaf trait) 3.1 F2 obtained after selfing of asingle F1 plant 37 13 3.2 F2 obtained after selfing of a single F1 plant35 5 3.3 F2 obtained after selfing of a single F1 plant 36 8

FIGS. 4-9 show a multileaf plant according to the invention and a plantnot carrying the trait of the invention from each F2 population. Itfollows furthermore from FIG. 10 that plants of the invention producesubstantially more leaves than a normal plant.

The invention is further described by the following numbered paragraphs:

1. A spinach plant which carries a genetic determinant that whenhomozygously present leads to expression of the multileaf trait whichleads to the plant having at least 1.25 times as many leaves as a plantnot carrying the multileaf trait wherein said trait is obtainable byintrogression from a multileaf spinach plant representative seed ofwhich was deposited with the NCIMB under accession number NCIMB 41619.

2. Spinach plant of paragraph 1, which carries a genetic determinantthat when homozygously present leads to expression of the multileaftrait which leads to the plant having at least 1.25 times as many leavesas a plant not carrying the multileaf trait wherein said trait isintrogressed from a multileaf spinach plant representative seed of whichwas deposited with the NCIMB under accession number NCIMB 41619.

3. Spinach plant of paragraph 1 or 2, which plant has at least 1.5 timesas many leaves as a plant not carrying the multileaf trait.

4. Spinach plant of paragraph 1 or 2, which plant has at least 2 timesas many leaves as a plant not carrying the multileaf trait.

5. Spinach plant of paragraph 1, 2 or 3, which plant has at least 2times as many leaves as a plant not carrying the multileaf trait.

6. A spinach plant comprising a genetic determinant that whenhomozygously present leads to expression of the multileaf trait of anyone of paragraphs 1-5, obtainable by crossing a first spinach parentplant with a second spinach parent plant that has the multileaf trait asfound in plants of which representative seed was deposited under depositaccession number NCIMB 41619 to obtain an F1, subsequently selfingplants of the F1 to obtain an F2 and selecting plants from the F2 thathave the multileaf trait as plants of the invention.

7. Progeny plant of a spinach plant of any one of paragraphs 1-6carrying the multileaf trait and having at least 1.25 times as manyleaves as a plant not carrying the multileaf trait.

8. Propagation material suitable for producing a spinach plant of anyone of the paragraphs 1-7, wherein the propagation material is selectedfrom seeds, parts of the plant that are suitable for sexualreproduction, in particular microspores, pollen, ovaries, ovules, embryosacs and egg cells, parts of the plant that are suitable for vegetativereproduction, in particular cuttings, roots, stems, cells andprotoplasts, tissue cultures of regenerable cells, parts of the plantthat are suitable for preparing tissue cultures, in particular leaves,pollen, embryos, cotyledon, hypocotyls, meristematic cells, roots, roottips, anthers, flowers, seeds and stems, wherein the plant produced fromthe propagation material carries the multileaf trait and has at least1.25 times as many leaves as a plant not carrying the multileaf trait.

9. Spinach plant produced from the propagation material of paragraph 8which carries the multileaf trait and has at least 1.25 times as manyleaves as a spinach plant not carrying the multileaf trait.

10. Spinach plant of paragraph 9, wherein cells of the plant containgenetic material encoding the multileaf trait.

11. Cell of a spinach plant of any one of paragraphs 1-7 and 9-10, whichcell comprises genetic information encoding the multileaf trait whichgenetic information when homozygously present leads to the spinach planthaving at least 1.25 times as many leaves as a spinach plant notcarrying the multileaf trait, in particular genetic information which issubstantially identical, preferably completely identical to the geneticinformation encoding the multileaf trait of spinach plants that have allof the morphological and physiological characteristics of multileafspinach plants, representative seed of which having been deposited underNCIMB Accession No. NCIMB 41619.

12. Cell of paragraph 11, which cell is part of a spinach plant.

13. Container comprising one or more spinach plants of any one ofparagraphs 1-7 and 9-10 in a growth substrate for harvest of leaves fromthe spinach plant in a domestic environment.

Having thus described in detail preferred embodiments of the presentinvention, it is to be understood that the invention defined by theabove paragraphs is not to be limited to particular details set forth inthe above description as many apparent variations thereof are possiblewithout departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A spinach plant which carries a geneticdeterminant that when homozygously present leads to expression of themultileaf trait which leads to the plant having at least 1.25 times asmany leaves as a plant not carrying the multileaf trait wherein saidtrait is obtainable by introgression from a multileaf spinach plantrepresentative seed of which was deposited with the NCIMB underaccession number NCIMB
 41619. 2. The spinach plant as claimed in claim1, which carries a genetic determinant that when homozygously presentleads to expression of the multileaf trait which leads to the planthaving at least 1.25 times as many leaves as a plant not carrying themultileaf trait wherein said trait is introgressed from a multileafspinach plant representative seed of which was deposited with the NCIMBunder accession number NCIMB
 41619. 3. The spinach plant as claimed inclaim 1, which plant has at least 1.5 times as many leaves as a plantnot carrying the multileaf trait.
 4. The spinach plant as claimed inclaim 1, which plant has at least 2 times as many leaves as a plant notcarrying the multileaf trait.
 5. The spinach plant as claimed in claim1, which plant has at least 2 times as many leaves as a plant notcarrying the multileaf trait.
 6. A spinach plant comprising a geneticdeterminant that when homozygously present leads to expression of themultileaf trait as claimed in claim 1, obtainable by crossing a firstspinach parent plant with a second spinach parent plant that has themultileaf trait as found in plants of which representative seed wasdeposited under deposit accession number NCIMB 41619 to obtain an F1,subsequently selfing plants of the F1 to obtain an F2 and selectingplants from the F2 that have the multileaf trait as plants of theinvention.
 7. A progeny plant of a spinach plant as claimed in claim 1carrying the multileaf trait and having at least 1.25 times as manyleaves as a plant not carrying the multileaf trait.
 8. A propagationmaterial suitable for producing a spinach plant as claimed in claim 1,wherein the propagation material is selected from seeds, parts of theplant that are suitable for sexual reproduction, in particularmicrospores, pollen, ovaries, ovules, embryo sacs and egg cells, partsof the plant that are suitable for vegetative reproduction, inparticular cuttings, roots, stems, cells and protoplasts, tissuecultures of regenerable cells, parts of the plant that are suitable forpreparing tissue cultures, in particular leaves, pollen, embryos,cotyledon, hypocotyls, meristematic cells, roots, root tips, anthers,flowers, seeds and stems, wherein the plant produced from thepropagation material carries the multileaf trait and has at least 1.25times as many leaves as a plant not carrying the multileaf trait.
 9. Aspinach plant produced from the propagation material as claimed in claim8 which carries the multileaf trait and has at least 1.25 times as manyleaves as a spinach plant not carrying the multileaf trait.
 10. Thespinach plant as claimed in claim 9, wherein cells of the plant containgenetic material encoding the multileaf trait.
 11. A cell of a spinachplant as claimed in claim 1, which cell comprises genetic informationencoding the multileaf trait which genetic information when homozygouslypresent leads to the spinach plant having at least 1.25 times as manyleaves as a spinach plant not carrying the multileaf trait, inparticular genetic information which is substantially identical,preferably completely identical to the genetic information encoding themultileaf trait of spinach plants that have all of the morphological andphysiological characteristics of multileaf spinach plants,representative seed of which having been deposited under NCIMB AccessionNo. NCIMB
 41619. 12. The cell as claimed in claim 11, wherein the cellis part of a spinach plant.
 13. A container comprising one or morespinach plants as claimed in claim 1 in a growth substrate for harvestof leaves from the spinach plant in a domestic environment.